Nursing Now is a worldwide campaign that is administered by a campaign board composed of nurses and others from 16 countries within the auspices of the Burdett Trust for Nursing, an eponym for Sir Henry Burdett KCB, the founder of the Royal National Pension Fund for Nurses.1,2 The campaign builds on the fact that nurses have a pivotal role in health promotion, disease prevention, and treatment across the globe, and given this decisive role, nurse empowerment is crucial to improve worldwide health.1 Nursing Now is informed by the Triple Impact of Nursing report's conclusions that, when nurses are empowered, gender equality improves and economies are strengthened.3

The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Global Health (APPG) is responsible for the Triple Impact of Nursing report. Participants of this informal group are members of the House of Commons or the House of Lords who have a shared interest in certain issues. The Triple Impact report is not an official publication of either House or its authorized committees; rather, the report reflects the views of the APPG.3 Nurses and other health care professionals need to familiarize themselves with the report's findings and recommendations. The report relates to the World Health Organization's global accord calling for universal health coverage for everyone, everywhere.4 The Universal Health Coverage and World Health Day initiative, now in its 70th anniversary year, commits to ensuring that everyone in the word can access necessary, affordable quality health services.4

The Triple Impact of Nursing report emphasizes that successfully providing universal health coverage requires a strong global nursing presence. A strong nursing profession will yield a "triple impact of improving health, promoting gender equality and supporting economic growth."3^(p2) The APPG makes the case that the UK government has a history that demonstrates its ability to lead international nursing development and achieve the triple impact outcomes. Nursing Now aims to move these efforts forward by working to empower nurses so that the triple impact is progressively achieved over time. The report is available as a free download, and it provides approximately 60 pages of data-driven, descriptive, easily comprehended information that includes recommendations with specific goals.3

The Triple Impact of Nursing report recommendations include: raise the profile of nursing and make it essential to health policy; support efforts to increase the number of nurses; cultivate nurse leaders and nurse leadership; remove barriers that prevent nurses from working at maximum impact; commission large-scale studies that demonstrate nurses' impact on health and contributions to universal health coverage; develop nursing so that it has a triple impact on health, general equality, and economic strength; and, promote partnerships and strategic learning opportunities between the UK and other countries.3 The report also details the scope of the review and analyses that gird its recommendations. Particularly interesting are the shared issues confronting nurses in the global community, regardless of poverty levels or richness of national economies. Nurses described issues of inadequate or missing equipment, the hidden work of nurses and how nurses are underestimated or undervalued, regulatory or social barriers to care that limit their ability to work to the full extent of their competence, nurse migration patterns and subsequent impact on care provision, and nurses' lack of engagement in policy and planning.3 Nurses with a keen appreciation for nursing's potential will be interested in opportunities that the report describes when nurses are able to practice as fully empowered agents contributing within their full scope of training, education, and competence.

Nursing Now seeks to operationalize the Triple Impact report. Nurses interested in supporting this initiative have various opportunities to become involved including signing up for electronic newsletters or stepping up and formally pledging support.5 Those who pledge may be interested in setting up a Nursing Now National Group in their country. Guidelines are available as are other tools including social media campaigns, Web site launches, and other opportunities revealed on a global activity map. A social media toolkit is freely available as is use of the Nursing Now logo as long as the user commits via a pledge signature and agreement with required guidelines. Nursing Now groups are located or are in the process of forming in approximately 36 countries.6 A newsfeed is available with event information.

Nursing Now anticipates running until the end of 2020, and it has strategic goals that it hopes to achieve by the end of this 3-year period.7 Nursing Now particularly focuses on nursing but does include midwifery where overlap occurs between the 2 professions, keeping in mind that while many nurses are midwives, midwifery is a profession unique from nursing.7 The 2020 goals are consistent with those expressed in the Triple Impact of Nursing report and include: (1) greater investment in nursing and midwifery, with more nurses in training and employment and substantive progress in rectifying the dramatic anticipated global shortfall of nurses and midwives by the year 2030; (2) enhanced dissemination of effective and innovative nursing practices; (3) increased influence on health policy for nurses and midwives; (4) greater numbers of nurses in senior leadership positions, with increased opportunities for networking; and (5) increased quantity and quality of evidence and research about nursing's impact on health outcomes and opportunities to eliminate barriers to full scope of practice.7

It is worthwhile to share Nursing Now and the Triple Impact report on nursing with undergraduate and graduate nursing students as well as with nurse educators, policy makers, and nurse executives. As nurses consider the Triple Impact report findings, they will likely find similarities between their professional challenges and those of nurses practicing in other countries. Some of the themes described in the Triple Impact report may resonate with other health care providers as well, and certainly support from interprofessional colleagues is valuable. The Burdett Trust for Nursing is governed by trustees with diverse backgrounds. The champions of Nursing Now are also from varied backgrounds and are recognized advocates of nursing and defenders of quality health care. Joining the Nursing Now campaign and contributing time and talents in whatever ways are possible, including spreading the word to nurse colleagues and students, are notable contributions that will have a ripple effect in moving the campaign forward.

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